Trolley-wire support.



PATENTED JAN. 27, 1903.

E. HILL. TROLLEY WIRE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1902.

'10 MODEL.

B I I IIIIIIIII IIIII'4/II/II WITNESSES.

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EBENEZER HILL, OF SOUTH NORWVALK, CONNECTICUT.

TROLLEY WlRE SUPPORT.

ESPEGIFIGATIOH forming part of Letters Patent No. 719,1 12, dated January 2'7, 1903.

Application filed May 7, 1902. Serial No. 106,297. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EBENEZER HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Norwalk, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Trolley-W'ire Support, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in trolley-wire supports or ears, so called.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, trolleywire supports, whether made integral or of parts adapted to be secured together, have been made each complete in itself, although the sizes and styles have of course varied greatly, and each support has been in use immovably secured to the corresponding hanger or clip.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a trolley-wire support in the form of continuous strips of uniform cross-section, said hanger-strips being adapted to be cut up into sections of any required length for use, whereby a section of any desired length may extend from one hanger to another and support the wire continuously between such hangers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trolley-wire support having a continuous longitudinal enlargement adapted to receive a hanger or clip which may be adjusted longitudinally thereon after the hanger is secured to the hub, thus permitting the use of an insulated hanger, as the necessity for turning a threaded shank into the hanger after the latter is attached to the wire is done away with.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trolley-wire support made from a continuous strip of sheet metal which may be rolled or formed in dies and is then folded longitudinally at its mid-width.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide trolley-wire supports in the form of continuous strips of uniform cross-section, said strips being adapted to be cut up into sections of any required length for use, which when attached to a wire will enable an ordinary round wire with my novel support thereon to be used on curves and in other places where it has heretofore been the practice to use a figure-8 wire, whereby the use of ordinary round Wire in continuouslengths is made practicable on curves, as Well as when theline is straight, the wire being continuously held by the support around such curve, said support being in turn held by a plurality of hangers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a trolley-Wire hanger having a continuous longitudinal recess with a reduced neck to adapt it to receive a trolley-wire support having a corresponding longitudinal enlargement.

\Vith these and other objects inview the invention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts, improvements, and combinations,which will be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation illustrating one form of my novel invention when made from sheet metal, the ends of the support being broken to indicate thatit is made in continuous lengths, although it is of course cut into sections for use before it is attached to the wire; Fig. 2, a cross-section corresponding with Fig. 1; Fig. 3, acrosssection of a blank for the form in Fig. 1 be fore it is folded at its mid-width; Fig. 4, an elevation, and Fig. 5 a sectional view corresponding therewith, illustrating a form of my invention made from sheet metal in which a trolley-wire support is provided with a longitudinal enlargement adapted to engage a corresponding recess and reduced neck in a hanger; Fig. 6, a cross-section of a blank corresponding with the form in Figs. 4 and 5; and Fig. 7 is an elevation; and Fig. 8 a crosssection on the line 8 8 in Fig. 7, illustrating a form of my invention in which the trolleywire support is rolled to shape in continuous lengths in solid form, the hanger being in place thereon, but the hub omitted, as it forms no portion of my present invention.

A denotes my novel trolley-wire support as a whole; B and C, sheet-metal blanks from which different formsof my novel support are made from sheet metal; D, a novel form of hanger adapted to be used with my novel trolley-wire support, and E an ordinary round wire.

The forms illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, iii-- elusive, are made from sheet-metal blanks, which may be rolled to the required form or may be formed in dies, and are then folded together at their mid-width, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The form illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 when folded has a flattened portion 10, which is provided with holes 11 for the attachment of suspending wires (not shown) where it is not desired to usea hanger.

All the forms of my novel trolley-wire support are shown as provided with longitudinal enlargements 12, and the hanger is shown as provided with a longitudinal recess 13, having a reduced neck 14:, the recess being provided to receive the enlargement upon the trolley-Wire support.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated a form of my invention in which the trolley-wire support is rolled to shape in continuous lengths in solid form instead of being made from a strip of sheet metal first shaped and then folded at its mid-width.

In use the trolley-wire supports may be cut to any required length and secured to the wire by soldering, cementing, or in any preferred manner. Hangers which may have been previously rigidly secured to insulated hubs (not shown) are then slipped over the end of each support, the recesses in the hangers, with their reduced necks, permitting the enlargements upon the supports to be passed into them after the supports have been secured to the wire and the hangers have been secured to hubs. Trolley-wire supports made in this manner are sufficiently flexible so that they may be formed to a curve after being placed upon a wire without breaking their continuity. This enables me to use trolley-wire supports of indefinite length, which may be suspended by means of wires (not shown) or by means of correspondingly-eurved hangers or clips which may be so adjusted on the supports as to secure the best possible results in sustaining a wire, thus giving me a continuous and very strong support between hangers for the wire on curves where it is most needed, as well as upon ordinary straight lines, which I find in practice to be a great advantage over the short supports now in use. A further advantage, as already stated, is that my novel supports when attached to a wire give to the wire all the properties and advantages of figure-8 wire, so that the necessity of using figure-8 wire on curves or elsewhere is done away with and great expense both in material and in cost of connecting and suspending is avoided. The advantages of my novel trolley-wire support are equally great upon ordinary straight lines, as it enables the lineman to place the supports exactly in line with the poles, and thus avoid all undue strain upon the poles and suspending wires, and also to adjust the hangers upon the supports should the poles lean after being set up. A further important advantage lies in the fact that the hangers may be secured in place without danger of getting loose, for the reason that a threaded shank does not have to be turned into the hub after the hanger has been secured to the wire, as my invention provides for securing the support to the wire and the hanger to the hub and then sliding the hanger over the enlargement upon the support, it being wholly immaterial so far as my invention is concerned whether the support is rolled in solid form or is made of sheet metal shaped and folded at its mid-width.

It will be noted that the wire-socket in my novel support, which I have specifically indicated by 15, is made slightly greater than a half-circle, so that the wire requires to be sprung into it and will be held therein while being permanently attached thereto by means of solder or cement or by mechanically closing the walls of the socket down upon the wlre.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a trolley-wire support of uniform cross-section and having a longitudinal enlargement, of a hanger having a continuous longitudinal recess and a reduced neck, the said recess being adapted to receive said enlargement, said support being continuous to extend between a plurality of such hangers.

2, The combination withatrolley-wire-support strip of uniform cross-section and having a longitudinal wire-socket and a longitudinal recess, of a hanger having a longitudinal enlargement and a reduced neck, the said recess being adapted to receive said enlargement, said support being continuous to extend between a plurality of such hangers.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EBENEZER HILL.

Witnesses:

E. HILL, J r., J. E. SLATER. 

